The present invention pertains to those arts concerned with devices for supplying and/or regulating a source of clean air to a remote operational station where the atmosphere is polluted and cannot be consumed by a human being performing various tasks at that station.
There are numerous job requirements in industry which require that a worker perform tasks in a hazardous or polluted air atmosphere. Accordingly, it is quite often necessary and even mandatory for many such assignments that the worker employ a hood or air breathing apparatus which in turn is connected to a source of clean air that is piped to the worker. Typical of such assignments is that of a sand blaster or a painter working within a confined area and/or using a dangerous coating material. Other typical applications are, for example, the necessity of a worker entering a contaminated area such as encountered in a petrochemical plant where dangerous fumes have leaked in the area and an operator must enter that area in order to shut down or check certain equipment. There are diverse other applications and work assignments which require the use of an external supplied source of air.
It is common practice in many industries, both as a requirement of a particular company and/or required by the safety laws, that another worker be stationed some distance away and in sight of the worker employing the air breathing apparatus so that if failure of the air supply should occur, or for some reason the worker may injure himself and lose control of his air breathing apparatus, or for any other reason that could endanger the life of the worker, then the safety worker can then institute a necessary rescue operation. There are many applications where the only essential function of the worker standing guard is to give an immediate alarm or indication to the worker with the air breathing device if and when the air pressure should be reduced and/or interrupted. An object of the present invention is to provide a device whereby a worker working in a hazardous or polluted air atmosphere which requires the use of an auxiliary air breathing device, can be very quickly and adequately warned of any reduction and/or interruption of his air supply. Among the distinct advantages and features of the present invention is its simplicity and relatively low cost of manufacture coupled with the ease by which it can be readily checked by an operator to ascertain its proper working order. These objects and distinct advantages and features of the present invention will become evident to one skilled in the art in light of the ensuing detailed disclosure of its preferred embodiment and as particularly pointed out in the amended claims.